Citizens United and Political Accountability
Corruption, Accountability and Discretion
ISBN: 978-1-78743-556-8, eISBN: 978-1-78743-555-1
Publication date: 24 October 2017
Abstract
This chapter examines the role that Citizens United v. FEC (2010) has played in shaping the current system of election spending in the United States. In Citizens United, the Court determined that individual rights to speech and expression can flow into the corporate entities they join. This chapter argues that the Court’s holding serves to redirect the focus of accountability away from those who seek to sway election outcomes through massive election spending and toward any efforts by government to regulate that type of spending. The practical result has been to allow for the creation of new organizations that can take in unlimited amounts of money while also effectively hiding the source of funds from disclosure. By muddying the waters of disclosure, these new entities – Super PACs and dark money organizations – lower the ability of citizens to maintain accountability over the electoral system. Finally, this chapter examines ways to encourage greater disclosure and accountability in government after Citizens United.
Keywords
Citation
Bricker, B. (2017), "
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited